Research Article Floristic Composition, Vegetation Structure, and Regeneration...

Research ArticleFloristic Composition Vegetation Structure andRegeneration Status of Woody Plant Species of Oda Forest ofHumbo Carbon Project Wolaita Ethiopia

Markos Kuma1 and Simon Shibru2

1Department of Biology Wolaita Sodo University PO Box 138 Wolaita Sodo Ethiopia2Department of Biology Arba Minch University PO Box 21 Arba Minch Ethiopia

Correspondence should be addressed to Markos Kuma kumamarkos03gmailcom

Received 29 June 2015 Accepted 3 September 2015

Academic Editor Zed Rengel

Copyright copy 2015 M Kuma and S Shibru This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons AttributionLicense which permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properlycited

Our current study was conducted in Oda forest to explore floristic composition vegetation structure and regeneration of woodyspecies in a newly established Humbo Carbon Project In the project the above information for sufficient conservation andmanagement of the forest is not well documented Data were collected in October andDecember 2014Thirty-two quadrats (20m times20m) lying 100m far apart were used for shrub and tree data In each major plot subplots (1m2) were established at the center andcorner for seedlings and saplings data Altitude slope and aspect were measured using GPS and clinometers DBH basal areaand IVI were used for vegetation structure Among 62 species confined in 32 families and 54 genera Dodonaea angustifolia andCombretummollewere the densest and the most dominant and frequent species with higher IVI Altitude and slope had significanteffect (119901 lt 00001) on basal area and dominance Bell and inverted J shaped patterns of selected woody species were identifiedThe seedling sapling and matured tree had 23 237 and 74 density haminus1 of individuals respectively Generally the studyconfirmed that very few species had dominance and abundance influence of altitude and slope on species distribution and fairregeneration of the forest

1 Introduction

Diverse physiographic altitudinal climatic and edaphic dif-ference enables Ethiopia to have various types of vegetationranging from alpine to desert plant communities [1] whichprovide economical sociocultural and environmental ben-efits Many studies confirmed that forests have an importantrole inmaintaining the productivity of the environment treesprovide food for animals serve as a standing cover to protectthe land from wind and water erosion stabilizing the watercycle facilitate the process of evaporation and keep the soilporous they are also used for construction as well as for toolsfurniture fuel medicine grass and herbage and for forageand provide edible fruitsThey serve to absorb carbon dioxideto reduce global warming give off oxygen and renew theatmosphere Plants also serve as a source of income by attract-ing tourists serve as recreational facilities prevent lakes and

dams from silting and clean regulate and distribute waterresources [1ndash6] Hence forests sequester and store morecarbon than any terrestrial ecosystem that is they storemorethan 80 of all terrestrial above ground carbon and morethan 70 of all soil organic carbon [7 8] To do so stableclimate is crucial but the climate of Ethiopia has been chang-ing due to global and local effects of vegetation degradation[4 9] In Ethiopia different factors like deforestation over-harvesting and permanent conversion to other forms of landuse are leading to shrinkage of forest resources In additionto anthropogenic activities forest can be affected by differentenvironmental factors such as altitude slope and aspect byaffecting the patterns of tree species distribution [10 11]

The forests of Humbo Woreda have been cleared onlywithin the last thirty to fifty years as the demand for energyconstruction wood food fodder and feed has increasedas a result of the increase both in human and in livestock

Hindawi Publishing CorporationJournal of BotanyVolume 2015 Article ID 963816 9 pageshttpdxdoiorg1011552015963816

2 Journal of Botany

population [12] The main causes of deforestation and forestdegradation at Humbo are tree cutting for wood fuel andconstruction materials production for sale especially to com-pensate food shortage created by erratic and scarce rainfall inthe area over a long period of time Oda forest was one of theforests of HumboWoreda victimized by these anthropogenicactivities as well as environmental factors Awareness andknowledge on sustainable use and management were verymuch less even though theHumboCarbonProject forests likeOda forest provide ecological services and socioeconomicvalues to local communitiesTherefore HumboCommunity-Based Forest Management Project was established with theaimof sequesteringCO

2through regeneration of native forest

utilizing the farmer managed natural regeneration technique[13]

The Humbo Community-Based Natural RegenerationProject forests act as a carbon ldquosinkrdquo to mitigate climatechangewhile at the same time building environmental socialand economic resilience for future climate change impactsOver 90 percent of theHumbo project area is being reforestedfrom the stumps of previously cut down (but still living) treesTo date 2728 hectares of degraded forest that was being con-tinually exploited for wood charcoal and fodder extractionhas been protected and is now being restored and sustainablymanaged [14] Of that 34004 hectares is covered by Odaforest

The diversity regeneration status floristic compositionand vegetation structure are crucial elements to clearly visu-alize the anthropogenic activities as well as environmentalfactors affecting the vegetation of an area Hence for forestmanagement accurate data on forest resources is consideredto be an essential requirement [15] but as a result of being anewly established Carbon Project such a kind of informationis not well documented in Oda forest The lack of such basicinformation is one of the serious problems that hamper suffi-cient conservation and management of the forest Thereforethis study intended to solve such a basic problem hinderingobservation of the next phenomenon

2 Materials and Methods

21 Description of the Study Area This study was carried outin Oda forest which is 25 km away from Humbo Tebela thetown of the Humbo district which is located 420 km awayfrom Addis Ababa The forest is found in SNNPR Wolaitazone Humbo Woreda Hobicha Bongota kebele (6∘441015840 and37∘521015840N 37∘531015840 and 38∘001015840E) Figure 1 It lies within the mid-land relatively low agroecological zone at altitude ranges from1625 to 1929masl and the vegetation can be classified as thedry woodland forest type It had been covered by dense veg-etation of broad-leaved vegetation types and montane forestsbefore they were cleared around fifty years ago [12]

22 Data Collection Thedata collection was conducted fromOctober to December 2014 A total of 32 quadrats (20m times20m) lying far apart at 100m were used for shrub and treedata based on aspect of the vegetation In each major plotsubplots (1m2) were established at the center and cornerfor seedlings and saplings data All woody species with

DBH ge 25 cm were recorded and their growth habitsdescribed Individuals having DBH lt 25 cm and heightle 06m were counted as seedling whereas individuals with25 cm le DBH le 15 cm and 061 le height le 3m were countedas sapling The DBH was measured at 13m from the groundAltitude slope and aspect were measured using GPS andclinometers Species not identified on spot were identifiedusing published volumes of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritreaand ETH [16ndash20]

23 Data Analysis Density Diameter at Breast Height(DBH) frequency dominance basal area and IVI were usedfor description of vegetation structure Bar graphswere devel-oped using the DBH versus density of individuals for fourarbitrary diameter classes (1 le 5 cm 2 = 51ndash10 cm 3 = 101ndash15 cm and 4 ge 15 cm) of the forest as well as the selected dom-inant species The structural parameters were analyzed usingthe following formula

(1) Basal area of a tree = 11986224120587 or 120587(1198622395)(2) Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) = (119862120587)(3) Dominance = total cover or basal area of species A

area sampled(4) Relative dominance = dominance for species Atotal

dominance of all species times 100(5) Density = (number of individuals of species Aarea

sampled)(6) Relative density = (number of individuals of species

Atotal number of individuals in area) times 100(7) Frequency = (number of plots in which species A

occurstotal number of plots sampled)(8) Relative frequency = (frequency value for species A

total of all frequency values for all species) times 100(9) Importance value = relative density + relative fre-

quency + relative dominance

Regeneration status of the forest was analyzed by comparingsaplings and seedlings with the matured trees according toDhaulkhandi et al [21] and Tiwari et al [22] that is the statuswas good regeneration if seedlings gt saplings gt adults thestatus was fair regeneration if seedlings gt or le saplings leadults the status was poor regeneration if the speciessurvives only in sapling stage (saplings may be le or ge adults)and if a species is present only in an adult form it is consideredas not regeneratingMultivariate data analysis was carried outusing XLSTAT version 2015201

3 Results

31 Species Composition A total of 62 woody species rep-resenting 54 genera and 32 families were identified Out ofthe total families 588 were represented by one speciesFabaceae (8 species) and Combretaceae and Oleaceae (4species each) were found to be the most species richfamilies but some of the families like Vitaceae UlmaceaeThymelaeaceae EbenaceaeOlacaceae andMyrsinaceaewerefound to be the least species rich families (1 species each)

Journal of Botany 3

Wolaita Zone

N

Wolaita ZoneWolaita zoneSNNPR

Ethiopia by region

Bola WancheHobicha BongotaHumbo Woreda

6∘50

9984000998400998400N

6∘40

9984000998400998400N

6∘30

9984000998400998400N

6∘50

9984000998400998400N

6∘40

9984000998400998400N

6∘30

9984000998400998400N

37∘40

9984000998400998400E 37

∘50

9984000998400998400E 38

∘09984000998400998400E

37∘40

9984000998400998400E 37

∘50

9984000998400998400E 38

∘09984000998400998400E

(km)0 3 6 12 18 24

Figure 1 Map of study area

Calpurnia aurea from Fabaceae Schrebera alata fromOleaceae and Combretum molle from Combretaceae werefound to be the most abundant species 38 species (625)in the forest were represented by importance value less than1 Some of the species included in this group were Combre-tum aculeatum Croton macrostachyusUvaria schweinfurthiiMaytenus gracilipesProtea gaguediCapparis fascicularis andOzoroa pulcherrima Dodonaea angustifolia and Combretummolle were found to be the most dominant and abundantspecies in the forest and constituted 273 of the totalimportance value But 727 of importance value represented

60 species including the least abundant species like Sanse-vieria ehrenbergii Rytigynia neglecta Erica arborea Ocimumgratissimum Triumfetta brachyceras and Grewia velutina

32 Vegetation Structure The total density of woody speciesin Oda forest was 4745 plusmn 22957 SE individuals haminus1Dodonaea angustifolia has the highest density haminus1 (1295)followed by Combretummolle (625) But Grewia velutina andTriumfetta brachyceras have the least density of individualshaminus1 (061) The density of Euclea schimperi Rhus natalensisCombretum collinum and Schrebera alata was 291 262 203

4 Journal of BotanyD

ensit

y (h

aminus1)

lt5 5ndash10 101ndash15 gt15

DBH class (cm)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Figure 2 Vegetation structure of Oda forest

and 202 individuals haminus1 On the other handGrewia velutinaTriumfetta brachyceras Erica arborea Ocimum gratissimumRytigynia neglecta Sansevieria ehrenbergii Ximenia ameri-cana and Solanum incanum have the density less than fiveindividuals haminus1 There is significant difference in densitybetween species (119901 lt 002)Themost frequent woody specieswas Dodonaea angustifolia (ie 1) followed by Combretummolle (ie 094) but the least frequent species were Grewiavelutina Triumfetta brachyceras Erica arborea Ocimumgratissimum Pterolobium stellatum Rytigynia neglecta San-sevieria ehrenbergii and Pappea capensis (ie 003) Table 1The multivariate tests indicated that frequency of species issignificantly affected by slope (119901 lt 0002) altitude (119901 lt00001) and aspect (119901 lt 0001) at adjusted 1198772 = 0597The total mean dominance of woody species was 209651 plusmn906219 SE Combretummolle (219) is found to be the mostdominant species followed byAcokanthera schimperi (107)But the species of less than 001 dominance were Osyrisquadripartite Clutia lanceolata Sansevieria ehrenbergii Cap-paris fascicularisXimenia americanaTriumfetta brachycerasGrewia velutinaGnidia glauca Rytigynia neglecta Crotalariapallid Erica arborea Ocimum gratissimum and Pterolobiumstellatum Dodonaea angustifolia (141) had the highest IVIfollowed by Combretum molle (132) Species with IVI lessthan 2 included Solanum incanum Ximenia americanaSansevieria ehrenbergii Rytigynia neglecta Erica arboreaOcimum gratissimum Triumfetta brachyceras and Grewiavelutina Table 1The altitude and slope have an equally strongsignificant (119901 lt 00001) effect on basal area and dominanceof species between quadrats

33 Population Structure of the Forest and Selected WoodySpecies The species density distribution by DBH class ofOda forest showed right skewed pattern (Figure 2) Howeverthis pattern does not depict the general trends of populationdynamics and recruitment processes of a given speciesAnalysis of population structures for each individual treeand shrub species could provide more realistic and specificinformation for conservation measures

Diameter class distribution of selected tree speciesdemonstrated various patterns of population structureimplying different population dynamics among species InCombretum molle and Combretum collinum the DBH classlt5 cm has the least species distribution (ie 113 and 57resp) but the highest density (691 and 668 resp) isfound in DBH class 5ndash10 cm In Acokanthera schimperi andSchrebera alata the DBH class 101ndash15 cm has the least speciesdistribution (ie 74 and 6 resp) but the highest speciesdistribution (ie 713 and 743 resp) was found in DBHclass 5ndash10 cm In Euclea schimperi 449 species distributionwas in DBH class lt5 cm 50 distribution was in DBHclass 5ndash10 cm and 51 distribution was in DBH class 101ndash15 cmTherefore these species resulted in bell shaped patternhowever Combretum molle and Combretum collinum havehigher species density distribution in DBH class 101ndash15 cmthan that ofAcokanthera schimperi and Schrebera alata In bellshaped pattern the middle DBH classes have higher speciesdensity distribution than the lower and higher DBH classesIn Dodonaea angustifolia higher species density (787)distribution is found in DBH class lt5 cm but lower speciesdistribution (213) is found inDBH class 5ndash10 cmThereforeit resulted in inverted J shaped pattern In general exceptin Combretum molle the DBH class gt15 cm has no speciesdistribution in all other selected species Figure 3

34 Regeneration Status In Oda forest 55 species (891)9 species (156) and 5 species (78) have no seedlingsapling andmatured tree respectively On the other hand theseedling sapling and matured tree consist of 23 237and 74 density haminus1 of individuals respectively The onlywoody species representing the seedling stage areCombretummolle Dodonaea angustifolia Euclea schimperi Hypericumrevolutum Myrtus communis and Olea capensis Woodyspecies that had no representation of seedling and saplingstage are Entada abyssinica Ficus vastaGrewia velutinaMyr-tus communis Rhoicissus revoilii Rytigynia neglecta Trium-fetta brachyceras and Ximenia americana but Capparis fasci-cularis Crotalaria pallid Ocimum gratissimum and Solanumincanum had no representation of seedling and matured treeDodonaea angustifolia was the most abundant species inseedling (72) sapling (258) and matured stage (257)Grevillea robusta and Myrtus communis were species withonly one individual in seedling but Celtis africana Crotonmacrostachyus Erica arborea Grevillea robusta and Pappeacapensis were species with one individual in sapling stage Inmatured stage Erica arborea Grewia velutina and Triumfettabrachyceras were species with one individual

4 Discussion

In this study Fabaceae are the most dominant family with8 species The dominance of Fabaceae was reported fromsimilar vegetation studies [23ndash28] The dominance indicatessuitability of the condition and adaptation of the environmentfor Fabaceae Similar to Didita et al [28] study most families(588) of Oda forest were represented by one species Inthe forest high dominance (ie 501) is occupied by a fewspecies (CombretummolleAcokanthera schimperiDodonaea

Journal of Botany 5

Table 1 Density haminus1 dominance frequency and IVI of species

Scientific name Density haminus1 Frequency Dominance IVIAcacia hockii DeWild 65 056 3733 59Acacia senegal (L) Willd 45 009 343 16Acokanthera schimperi (ADC) Schweinf 48 019 22332 126Albizia schimperiana Oliv 26 041 318 15Allophylus abyssinicus (Hochst) Radlk 49 072 945 50Calpurnia aurea (Ait) Benth 133 053 3797 72Capparis fascicularis 6 019 13 10Carissa edulis(Forssk) Vahl 181 072 4894 96Celtis africana Burm f 11 013 530 11Clutia abyssinica Jaub amp Spach 36 052 665 36Clutia lanceolata Forssk 14 041 15 20Combretum aculeatum Vent 20 031 871 23Combretum collinum Fresen subsp binderianum (Kotschy) Okafor 203 053 16186 146Combretum molle (R Br ex G Don) 625 094 45871 397Crotalaria pallida L 3 016 3 09Croton macrostachyusHochst ex Delile 17 025 1311 22Dichrostachys cinerea (L) Wight amp Arn 95 075 2034 67Dodonaea angustifolia L f 1295 1 21447 423Entada abyssinica Steud ex A 3 019 145 11Erica arborea L 1 003 2 02Euclea schimperi (ADC) Dandy 291 052 10566 137Ficus ingens (Miq) Miq 10 009 331 09Ficus vasta Forssk 3 009 6595 37Flacourtia indica (Burm f) Merr 1 013 233 08Gnidia glauca (Fresen) Gilg 6 025 9 14Grewia bicolor A Juss 36 047 862 35Grewia velutina (Forssk) Vahl 061 003 9 02Hypericum revolutum Vahl 119 069 601 62Jasminum floribundum R Br ex Fresen 23 075 36 42Maerua angolensis DC 20 044 690 29Markhamia lutea (Benth) KSchum 18 041 655 24Maytenus gracilipes (Welw ex Oliv) Exell 13 047 82 26Maytenus senegalensis (Lam) Exell 9 022 218 14Myrsine africana L 20 025 420 18Myrtus communis L 70 059 2643 56Ocimum gratissimum L 1 003 0 02Olea capensis L 133 034 7656 82Olea europaea L subsp cuspidata (Wall ex G Don) Cif 139 053 8360 95Olinia rochetiana A Juss 54 034 1307 35Osyris quadripartita Decn 12 041 15 20Ozoroa pulcherrima (Schweinf) R amp A Fernandes 23 022 1842 25Pappea capensis Eckl amp Zeyh 5 003 497 06Protea gaguedi J F Gmel 16 013 616 12Pterolobium stellatum (Forssk) Brenan sdot 1 003 0 24Rhamnus prinoides LrsquoHerit 13 022 698 17Rhoicissus revoilii Planch 10 025 44 15Rhus natalensis Bernh ex CKrauss 262 069 9648 135Rothmannia urcelliformis (Hiern) Robyns 15 009 213 09Rytigynia neglecta (Hiern) Robyns 1 003 5 02

6 Journal of Botany

Table 1 Continued

Scientific name Density haminus1 Frequency Dominance IVISalacia congolensis DeWild ampTh Dur 6 006 117 05Sansevieria ehrenbergii Schweinf ex Baker 1 003 14 02Schrebera alata (Hochst) Welw 202 069 10233 125Solanum incanum L 1 006 2 03Steganotaenia araliaceaHochst ex A Rich 2 009 295 07Syzygium guineense (Willd) DC 143 047 8611 94Teclea nobilis Del 9 016 505 12Terminalia schimperianaHochst 99 072 6146 85Tricalysia niamniamensisHiern 33 009 824 16Triumfetta brachyceras KSchum 061 003 11 02Uvaria scheffleri Diels 34 022 621 21Vernonia karaguensis Oliv 19 025 706 20Ximenia americana L 1 006 12 03

angustifolia and Combretum collinum) Dodonaea angustifo-lia had the highest IVI (141) followed by Combretum molle(132) According to Feyera [29] the high dominance andorabundance of a few species in a forest could be attributed to anumber of factors such as the overharvesting of the desiredspecies disturbance factors successional stage of the forestandor survival strategies of the species Many ecologicalstudies [30ndash33] on A abyssinica C aurea D angustifoliaMyrsine africana and Polyscias fulva revealed that they aresuccessional species Therefore Dodonaea angustifolia hasbeen the third dominant species affirming that the Oda forestwas in early successional stage Deribe [12] indicated fromhis field observation that 26 species would be at maturity ofthe forests of Humbo Carbon Project However our studyconfirmed the presence of 62 woody species in Oda forestincluding the planted species like Grevillea robusta

The population structure in Oda forest established twogroups of woody plant species from six species selected bytheir dominance The first group includes Combretum molleCombretum collinum Acokanthera schimperi Euclea schim-peri and Schrebera alatawhich showedbell shapedpattern Inbell shaped pattern the distribution of individuals of a speciesin the middle diameter classes is high and low in lower andhigher diameter classes According to Feyera et al [34] bellshaped pattern indicates a poor reproduction and recruit-ment of species whichmay be associated with intense compe-tition from the surrounding treesThe second group includesDodonaea angustifolia which resulted in inverted J shapedpattern Inverted J shaped pattern shows high distribution ofindividuals of a species in the lower diameter classes and agradual decrease towards the higher classes In other wordsit shows good reproduction and recruitment potential of thespecies Population structure of the forest and selected woodyspecies indicated the absence of individuals in almost allspecies of the forest inDBHclassgt15 cmThis and field obser-vation during data collection clearly confirmed the occur-rence of high disturbance in matured tree of the forest by

cutting of trees for charcoal production firewood houseconstruction and fencing

In Oda forest most of the woody species (891) had noseedling The only woody species representing the seedlingstage are Combretum molle Dodonaea angustifolia EucleaschimperiHypericum revolutumMyrtus communis andOleacapensis In the forest the seedling sapling and matured treeaccounted for 23 237 and 74 density haminus1 of individu-als respectivelyDensity haminus1 of individuals of species showedthat the seedling lt sapling lt matured tree in Oda forestAccording to Dhaulkhandi et al [21] the density values ofseedling and saplings are considered as regeneration potentialof the species Based on the criteria of Dhaulkhandi et al[21] and Tiwari et al [22] the forest of Oda was categorizedunder the forests with fair regeneration In the present studyarea some physiographic conditions worse habitats lackof awareness of villagers for conservation of forest seriesprevious disturbance occurring in the area and immaturityof old trees to produce seed were considered as the causes ofless regeneration of the forest Dodonaea angustifolia was themost abundant species in seedling (72) and sapling (258)Grevillea robusta and Myrtus communis were species withonly one individual in seedling and Celtis africana Crotonmacrostachyus Erica arborea Grevillea robusta and Pappeacapensis were species with one individual in sapling stage

Altitude and slope of Oda forest significantly affected thebasal area dominance and frequency of species while theaspect of vegetation significantly affected only the distribu-tion of the species The effect of altitude aspect and slope ondominance basal area and distribution of species is mainlyrelated with their influence on light radiation temperaturemoisture runoff and infiltration Similarly Kumelachew andTamrat [35] Hedberg [36] confirmed the effect of altitude onradiation temperature atmospheric pressure and moistureBesides Teshome et al [24] ensured effect of slope on runoffdrainage and moisture The influence of slope altitude andaspect of vegetation on moisture availability not only affects

Journal of Botany 7



lt5 5ndash10 101ndash15 gt15lt5 5ndash10 101ndash15 gt15

lt5 5ndash10 101ndash15 gt15 lt5 5ndash10 101ndash15 gt15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80D

ensit

y (

) (ha

minus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

DBH class of Combretum molle (cm)DBH class of Acokanthera schimperi (cm)

DBH class of Dodonaea angustifolia (cm) DBH class of Combretum collinum (cm)

DBH class of Euclea schimperi (cm) DBH class of Schrebera alata (cm)DBH class

Figure 3 Vegetation structure of selected dominant species

the dominance basal area and distribution of species but alsoaffects regeneration status of the vegetation It is also similarto McDonald et al [37] idea which states that the sensitivityof plants to moisture availability renders the regenerationof the dry forests The regeneration of the forest is affectednot only by environmental factors but also by anthropogenicactivities Some of the anthropogenic activities seriouslyobserved during data collection were cutting of trees forcharcoal production constructing wood fence and mowing

grasses for fodder and covering roof of house which arerelated with observation by Deribe [12]

5 Conclusion and Recommendation

Humbo Community-Based Forest Management Project is areforestation forestry project designed for sequestration ofcarbon through biodiverse native of natural forest managedby the local community Oda forest is one of the seven forests

8 Journal of Botany

demarcated in seven kebele associations It consists of 62woody species representing 54 genera and 32 families Amongthese species Dodonaea angustifolia and Combretum mollewere found to be the densest and the most dominant andfrequent species with higher IVI in the forest Frequency ofspecies is significantly affected by slope (119901 lt 0002) altitude(119901 lt 00001) and aspect (119901 lt 0001) Besides altitude andslope have an equally strong significant (119901 lt 00001) effect onbasal area and dominance of species between quadrats Thepopulation structure of selected woody species establishedtwo groups (bell shaped and inverted J shaped patterns)In Oda forest 55 species (891) 9 species (156) and 5species (78) have no seedling sapling and matured treerespectively On the other hand the seedling sapling andmatured tree consist of 23 237 and 74 density haminus1 ofindividuals respectively The forest of Oda was categorizedunder the forests with fair regeneration because the densityhaminus1 of seedling is less than that of sapling Therefore thegovernment NGOs and community must give conservationand management priority for species with IVI less than 1specieswith no seedling and families represented by only onespecies

Conflict of Interests

Markos Kuma and Simon Shibru the authors of the paperdeclare that there is no conflict of interests regarding itspublication

Acknowledgments

The authors thank HumboWoreda administrator andWorldVision Ethiopia Humbo branch for their permission toconduct this research inHumboCarbon Project siteThey aregrateful to Wolaita Sodo University for financial support andArba Minch University for giving the chance to carry out theresearch

References

[1] G K Sahle An ecological study of the vegetation on the easternescarpment of Eritrea Ethiopia [MS thesis] School of GraduateStudies Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1984

[2] K Curry-Lindahl Conservation for Survival Ethiopiarsquos ChoiceHIS University Press Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1972

[3] W Gebremarkos ldquoThe forest resources of Ethiopia past andpresentrdquo Journal of the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural HistorySociety Walia vol 19 pp 10ndash28 1998

[4] D Teketay ldquoDeforestation wood famine and environmentaldegradation in Ethiopiarsquos highland ecosystems urgent need foractionrdquo Northeast African Studies vol 8 no 1 pp 53ndash76 2001

[5] FAO ldquoRole of planted forests and trees outside forests insustainable forest management in the republic of EthiopiardquoWorking Paper 29 FAO Rome Italy 2003

[6] T Tsegaye ldquoAn overview of the forest ecosystems of Ethiopiafunctions trends and future directionsrdquo in Environment forSurvival Taking Stock of Ethiopiarsquos Environment Proceedings ofthe First Green ForumConferenceHeld in Addis Ababa EthiopiaM Seyoum and C Stoop Eds pp 18ndash34 Green Forum 2006

[7] R Jandl K Rasmussen M Tome and D W JohnsonThe Roleof Forests in Carbon Cycles Sequestration and Storage Issue 4ForestManagement and Carbon Sequestration Federal Researchand Training Centre for Forests Natural Hazard and Landscape(BFW) Vienna Austria 2006

[8] E Sundquist B Robert F Stephen et al Carbon Sequestrationto Mitigate Climate Change US Geological Survey Science fora Changing World New York NY USA 2008

[9] MYetebitu E Zewdu andN Sisay ldquoManual for assessment andmonitoring of carbon in forest and other land uses in EthiopiardquoTech Rep Ethiopian Forest Research Center Addis AbabaEthiopia 2010

[10] R Valencia R Condit H C Muller-Landau C Hernandezand H Navarrete ldquoDissecting biomass dynamics in a largeamazonian forest plotrdquo Journal of Tropical Ecology vol 25 no5 pp 473ndash482 2009

[11] R W McEwan Y-C Lin I-F Sun et al ldquoTopographic andbiotic regulation of aboveground carbon storage in subtropicalbroad-leaved forests of Taiwanrdquo Forest Ecology and Manage-ment vol 262 no 9 pp 1817ndash1825 2011

[12] G Deribe ldquoHumbo community-managed natural regenerationproject final reportrdquo Report Humbo Regeneration ProjectAddis Ababa Ethiopia 2006

[13] M Asfaw ldquoWorld vision Ethiopiardquo HumboSoddo CommunityBased Forest Management Project Activity AccomplishmentReport 2006

[14] Donaldson ldquoHumbo community managed forestry projectrdquoClimate Change Case Studies World Vision Addis AbabaEthiopia 2009

[15] FAO State of the Worldrsquos Forests FAO Forestry Department2007

[16] I Hedberg and S Edwards Eds Flora of Ethiopia and EritreaVol 3 Pittosporaceae to Araliaceae National Herbarium AddisAbaba University Addis Ababa Ethiopia Department of Sys-tematic Botany Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden 1989

[17] S Edwards T Mesfin and I Hedberg Eds Flora of Ethiopiaand Eritrea Vol2 Part 2 Canellaceae to Euphorbiaceae TheNational Herbarium Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1995

[18] I Hedberg and S Edwards Eds Flora of Ethiopia and EritreaVolume 7 Poaceae (Gramineae) Addis Ababa University AddisAbaba Ethiopia Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden 1997

[19] S Edwards D Sebsebe and I Hedberg Eds Flora of Ethiopiaand Eritrea Volume 6 Hydrocharitaceae to Ericacea AddisAbaba University Addis Ababa Ethiopia Uppsala UniversityUppsala Sweden 1997

[20] I Hedberg S Edwards and N Sileshi Eds Flora of Ethiopiaand Eritrea Vol 4 Part 1 Apiaceae to Dipsacaceae NationalHerbarium Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa EthiopiaDepartment of Systematic Botany Uppsala University UppsalaSweden 2003

[21] M Dhaulkhandi A Dobhal S Bhatt andM Kumar ldquoCommu-nity structure and regeneration potential of natural forest site inGangotri Indiardquo Journal of Basic amp Applied Sciences vol 4 pp49ndash52 2008

[22] G P K Tiwari K Tadele F Aramde and S C Tiwari ldquoCom-munity structure and regeneration potential of shorearobustaforest in subtropical submontane zone of Garhwal HimalayaIndiardquo Nature and Science vol 8 pp 70ndash74 2010

[23] D Gemedo Vegetation ecology rangeland condition and forageresources evaluation in the Borana Lowlands Southern Oro-mia Ethiopia [Doctoral dissertation] Georg-August UniversityGottingen Germany 2004

Journal of Botany 9

[24] S Teshome T Demel and D Sebsebe ldquoEcological study of thevegetation in Gamo Gofa zone Southern Ethiopiardquo Journal ofTropical Ecology vol 45 no 2 pp 209ndash221 2004

[25] B Anteneh Floristic description and ethno botanical study ofthe natural vegetation in the Babile Elephant Sanctuary Ethiopia[MS thesis] AAU Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2006

[26] T Negusse Ecology and plant use diversity in Sof Umer area ofBale Southeastern Ethiopia [MS thesis] AAU Addis AbabaEthiopia 2006

[27] G Tadesse T Bekele and S Demissew ldquoDryland woody vege-tation along an altitudinal gradient on the eastern escarpmentofWelo Ethiopiardquo Ethiopian Journal of Science vol 31 no 1 pp43ndash54 2008

[28] M Didita S Nemomissa and T W Gole ldquoFloristic andstructural analysis of the woodland vegetation around DelloMenna Southeast Ethiopiardquo Journal of Forestry Research vol21 no 4 pp 395ndash408 2010

[29] S Feyera Biodiversity and Ecology of Afromontane Rainforestswith Wild Coffea arabica L Populations in Ethiopia Ecologyand Development Series no 38 Cuvillier Gottingen Germany2006

[30] R Fichtl and A Admasu Honeybee Flora of Ethiopia MargrafVerlag Weikersheim Germany 1994

[31] I Friis ldquoMoraceaerdquo in Flora of Ethiopia I Hedberg and SEdwards Eds vol 3 pp 271ndash301 The National HerbariumAddis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia Department ofSystematic Botany Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden 1989

[32] M Thulin ldquoFabaceaerdquo in Flora of Ethiopia I Hedberg andS Edwards Eds vol 3 pp 49ndash251 The National HerbariumAddis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia Department ofSystematic Botany Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden 1989

[33] K Vollesen ldquoSapindaceaerdquo in Flora of Ethiopia I Hedbergand S Edwards Eds vol 3 pp 490ndash510 National HerbariumAddis Ababa University Addis Ababa Ethiopia Department ofSystematic Botany Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden 1989

[34] S Feyera W Tadesse D Sebsebe and M Denich ldquoFloristicdiversity and composition of Sheko forest Southwest EthiopiardquoEthiopian Journal of Biological Sciences vol 6 pp 11ndash42 2007

[35] Y Kumelachew and B Tamrat ldquoPlant community analysis andecology of afromontane and transitional rainforest vegetationof Southwestern Ethiopiardquo SINET Ethiopian Journal of Sciencevol 25 no 2 pp 155ndash175 2002

[36] O Hedberg ldquoFeatures of the Afroalpine plantecologyrdquo ActaPhytogeographica Suecica vol 49 pp 1ndash144 1964

[37] M A McDonald K P McLaren and A C Newton ldquoWhat arethe mechanisms of regeneration post-disturbance in tropicaldry forest CEE review 07-013 (SR37)rdquo Environmental Evi-dence 2010 httpwwwenvironmentalevidenceorgSR37html

Submit your manuscripts athttpwwwhindawicom

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014

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Hindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom

International Journal of

Volume 2014

Zoology


Molecular Biology International

GenomicsInternational Journal of


The Scientific World JournalHindawi Publishing Corporation httpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014


BioinformaticsAdvances in

Marine BiologyJournal of



Signal TransductionJournal of


BioMed Research International

Evolutionary BiologyInternational Journal of



Biochemistry Research International

ArchaeaHindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom Volume 2014


Genetics Research International


Advances in

Virolog y

Hindawi Publishing Corporationhttpwwwhindawicom

Nucleic AcidsJournal of

Volume 2014

Stem CellsInternational



Enzyme Research



Microbiology

2 Journal of Botany

population [12] The main causes of deforestation and forestdegradation at Humbo are tree cutting for wood fuel andconstruction materials production for sale especially to com-pensate food shortage created by erratic and scarce rainfall inthe area over a long period of time Oda forest was one of theforests of HumboWoreda victimized by these anthropogenicactivities as well as environmental factors Awareness andknowledge on sustainable use and management were verymuch less even though theHumboCarbonProject forests likeOda forest provide ecological services and socioeconomicvalues to local communitiesTherefore HumboCommunity-Based Forest Management Project was established with theaimof sequesteringCO

2through regeneration of native forest

utilizing the farmer managed natural regeneration technique[13]

The Humbo Community-Based Natural RegenerationProject forests act as a carbon ldquosinkrdquo to mitigate climatechangewhile at the same time building environmental socialand economic resilience for future climate change impactsOver 90 percent of theHumbo project area is being reforestedfrom the stumps of previously cut down (but still living) treesTo date 2728 hectares of degraded forest that was being con-tinually exploited for wood charcoal and fodder extractionhas been protected and is now being restored and sustainablymanaged [14] Of that 34004 hectares is covered by Odaforest

The diversity regeneration status floristic compositionand vegetation structure are crucial elements to clearly visu-alize the anthropogenic activities as well as environmentalfactors affecting the vegetation of an area Hence for forestmanagement accurate data on forest resources is consideredto be an essential requirement [15] but as a result of being anewly established Carbon Project such a kind of informationis not well documented in Oda forest The lack of such basicinformation is one of the serious problems that hamper suffi-cient conservation and management of the forest Thereforethis study intended to solve such a basic problem hinderingobservation of the next phenomenon

2 Materials and Methods

21 Description of the Study Area This study was carried outin Oda forest which is 25 km away from Humbo Tebela thetown of the Humbo district which is located 420 km awayfrom Addis Ababa The forest is found in SNNPR Wolaitazone Humbo Woreda Hobicha Bongota kebele (6∘441015840 and37∘521015840N 37∘531015840 and 38∘001015840E) Figure 1 It lies within the mid-land relatively low agroecological zone at altitude ranges from1625 to 1929masl and the vegetation can be classified as thedry woodland forest type It had been covered by dense veg-etation of broad-leaved vegetation types and montane forestsbefore they were cleared around fifty years ago [12]

22 Data Collection Thedata collection was conducted fromOctober to December 2014 A total of 32 quadrats (20m times20m) lying far apart at 100m were used for shrub and treedata based on aspect of the vegetation In each major plotsubplots (1m2) were established at the center and cornerfor seedlings and saplings data All woody species with

DBH ge 25 cm were recorded and their growth habitsdescribed Individuals having DBH lt 25 cm and heightle 06m were counted as seedling whereas individuals with25 cm le DBH le 15 cm and 061 le height le 3m were countedas sapling The DBH was measured at 13m from the groundAltitude slope and aspect were measured using GPS andclinometers Species not identified on spot were identifiedusing published volumes of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritreaand ETH [16ndash20]

23 Data Analysis Density Diameter at Breast Height(DBH) frequency dominance basal area and IVI were usedfor description of vegetation structure Bar graphswere devel-oped using the DBH versus density of individuals for fourarbitrary diameter classes (1 le 5 cm 2 = 51ndash10 cm 3 = 101ndash15 cm and 4 ge 15 cm) of the forest as well as the selected dom-inant species The structural parameters were analyzed usingthe following formula

(1) Basal area of a tree = 11986224120587 or 120587(1198622395)(2) Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) = (119862120587)(3) Dominance = total cover or basal area of species A

area sampled(4) Relative dominance = dominance for species Atotal

dominance of all species times 100(5) Density = (number of individuals of species Aarea

sampled)(6) Relative density = (number of individuals of species

Atotal number of individuals in area) times 100(7) Frequency = (number of plots in which species A

occurstotal number of plots sampled)(8) Relative frequency = (frequency value for species A

total of all frequency values for all species) times 100(9) Importance value = relative density + relative fre-

quency + relative dominance

Regeneration status of the forest was analyzed by comparingsaplings and seedlings with the matured trees according toDhaulkhandi et al [21] and Tiwari et al [22] that is the statuswas good regeneration if seedlings gt saplings gt adults thestatus was fair regeneration if seedlings gt or le saplings leadults the status was poor regeneration if the speciessurvives only in sapling stage (saplings may be le or ge adults)and if a species is present only in an adult form it is consideredas not regeneratingMultivariate data analysis was carried outusing XLSTAT version 2015201

3 Results

31 Species Composition A total of 62 woody species rep-resenting 54 genera and 32 families were identified Out ofthe total families 588 were represented by one speciesFabaceae (8 species) and Combretaceae and Oleaceae (4species each) were found to be the most species richfamilies but some of the families like Vitaceae UlmaceaeThymelaeaceae EbenaceaeOlacaceae andMyrsinaceaewerefound to be the least species rich families (1 species each)

Journal of Botany 3

Wolaita Zone

N


Ethiopia by region


6∘50

9984000998400998400N

6∘40

9984000998400998400N

6∘30

9984000998400998400N

6∘50

9984000998400998400N

6∘40

9984000998400998400N

6∘30

9984000998400998400N

37∘40

9984000998400998400E 37

∘50

9984000998400998400E 38

∘09984000998400998400E

37∘40

9984000998400998400E 37

∘50

9984000998400998400E 38

∘09984000998400998400E

(km)0 3 6 12 18 24






ensit

y (h

aminus1)


DBH class (cm)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500






4 Discussion


Journal of Botany 5



6 Journal of Botany

Table 1 Continued







Journal of Botany 7





0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80D

ensit

y (

) (ha

minus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)









8 Journal of Botany




Acknowledgments


References
























Journal of Botany 9






















Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology

Journal of Botany 3

Wolaita Zone

N


Ethiopia by region


6∘50

9984000998400998400N

6∘40

9984000998400998400N

6∘30

9984000998400998400N

6∘50

9984000998400998400N

6∘40

9984000998400998400N

6∘30

9984000998400998400N

37∘40

9984000998400998400E 37

∘50

9984000998400998400E 38

∘09984000998400998400E

37∘40

9984000998400998400E 37

∘50

9984000998400998400E 38

∘09984000998400998400E

(km)0 3 6 12 18 24






ensit

y (h

aminus1)


DBH class (cm)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500






4 Discussion


Journal of Botany 5



6 Journal of Botany

Table 1 Continued







Journal of Botany 7





0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80D

ensit

y (

) (ha

minus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)









8 Journal of Botany




Acknowledgments


References
























Journal of Botany 9






















Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology


ensit

y (h

aminus1)


DBH class (cm)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500






4 Discussion


Journal of Botany 5



6 Journal of Botany

Table 1 Continued







Journal of Botany 7





0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80D

ensit

y (

) (ha

minus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)









8 Journal of Botany




Acknowledgments


References
























Journal of Botany 9






















Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology

Journal of Botany 5



6 Journal of Botany

Table 1 Continued







Journal of Botany 7





0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80D

ensit

y (

) (ha

minus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)









8 Journal of Botany




Acknowledgments


References
























Journal of Botany 9






















Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology

6 Journal of Botany

Table 1 Continued







Journal of Botany 7





0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80D

ensit

y (

) (ha

minus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)









8 Journal of Botany




Acknowledgments


References
























Journal of Botany 9






















Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology

Journal of Botany 7





0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80D

ensit

y (

) (ha

minus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Den

sity

() (

haminus1)









8 Journal of Botany




Acknowledgments


References
























Journal of Botany 9






















Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology

8 Journal of Botany




Acknowledgments


References
























Journal of Botany 9






















Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology

Journal of Botany 9






















Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology








Volume 2014

Zoology






















Advances in

Virolog y



Volume 2014




Enzyme Research



Microbiology

Research Article Floristic Composition, Vegetation Structure, and Regeneration...

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Transcript of Research Article Floristic Composition, Vegetation Structure, and Regeneration...